from the same star
by czqy
Summary: "Maybe someday someone will be telling stories about the two of them." or, when Lance goes to thank Keith for defending him earlier, he accidentally ends up confessing, and gets a confession back.


**A/N:** this is dedicated to the lovely nessa (kcithslance on tumblr)! (y'all can also thank her for the adashi scene/mention)

but anyways here's what we deserved hope you enjoy!

(spoiler warning for s7 btw)

* * *

"Hey," James' sharp tone gains everyone's attention, "do Paladins not understand the chain of command? Your CO said it was too dangerous."

"Who do you think you are?" Lance stands up in a fit of rage. He doesn't care what kind of title James holds, Hunk doesn't deserve this, especially not right now.

"Well I think that _you're_ just a cargo pilot," and this causes Lance to jerk backwards, "so you're in no place to be saying anything." The words sting. Yeah, in their last year he was a fighter pilot, but he did only get the position because Keith flunked out. He sits back down in a daze. Maybe he also only got into the Garrison because Veronica was—

"Hey, watch what you're saying!" Keith's voice snaps Lance back to reality. He turns to find him standing with his fists to the table, and he looks _angry_. But wow, is it attractive. He knows Keith is probably just defending one of the paladins, but the butterflies in his stomach hope that maybe he's defending Lance.

"Yeah? And what're you going to do if I don't? Punch me again? We can go all out now, since you're no longer—"

"Enough!" Sam usually isn't at the forefront, but when he commands something everyone listens. "We are all on the same side here, and fighting won't get us anywhere. This isn't just about us, it's about Earth."

As the debriefing resumes, Lance tries to stay focused because Sam is right, this is about more than them, but he keeps getting distracted. He can't stop replaying the way Keith stood up for him, it was instantaneous as if he didn't even think about it, and it's fuelling certain feelings. He tries to make eye contact so he can send thanks, but the boy's gaze doesn't waver from the front once. This makes Lance feels guilty about not paying more attention, so he decides to go visit Keith later instead.

* * *

As Lance heads towards Keith's room that night, it all feels kind of surreal—they're back at the Galaxy Garrison, and even wearing the uniform. It's almost like they've come full circle. He falters at the door, because he doesn't know what's going to happen once he enters; he doesn't even know what he _wants_ to happen. But before he can change his mind about coming, the door opens and he finds himself face to face with Keith. Lance jumps at the suddenness, moving aside so Keith can pass, but he doesn't seem surprised to see Lance at all, and instead walks back to his bed.

"You're not heading out?" Lance asks when he's left standing in the doorway.

"No; I recognised your footsteps, and then they stopped outside my room, but you didn't knock, so I figured that you were hesitating and I may as well just let you in." Keith speaks distractedly, and Lance almost wants to scream because he doesn't even know the effect his words are having on Lance. _He can recognise my footsteps_ , Lance thinks, giddy, trying to suppress his blush as he steps in and takes a seat in Keith's chair.

After taking a quick glance at his surroundings (it's barren, but what else is new), Lance lets his eyes settle on Keith. He's intently working on something, and as hard as Lance tries, he can't figure out what. So when Keith relaxes a bit, he asks why his bed is covered with various items.

"I'm helping Shiro plan for a proposal," when Lance's eyes widen Keith adds, "don't tell anyone."

"Adam?" Keith nods. "Oh. Well it's very cool they've reunited and are back together, and stuff." Lance doesn't really mean it as a response, he's just saying his thoughts out loud, but Keith nods at this too.

"Yeah, it really is," and then Keith goes into concentration mode again. But before that, there was a smile. Not a big one, but Lance noticed. It softened all of his features, and Lance realises that aside from the two involved, no one will be happier about this union than Keith.

Everyone knew—knows—about Adam and Shiro. They were, after all, the power couple of the Garrison. The students loved seeing them together (they were consistently voted best couple in the yearbooks even though they were not students), they bantered a lot and it was entertaining, but more than that it was the obvious affection they held for each other that everyone admired. It's one of the reasons why Shiro is Lance's hero. He would see Shiro walking with Adam in the hallways, chatting and holding hands, and then he would see him flying, sometimes with Adam, breaking records left and right. He saw that, and thought if they could achieve all these amazing things, while staying true to who they are, he can do so too. And that was when he really started to accept himself.

Lance thinks about it now, about how Adam and Shiro are still together through all of this, in spite of all the obstacles life's thrown at them. He doesn't know how they parted, but he watched their reunion; he saw Adam throw himself at Shiro, and he saw them collapse to the ground, holding onto each other and not letting go. He saw their pure joy, and he thinks that maybe he deserves to chase his own happiness too, so he breaks the silence that's fallen between him and Keith.

"Hey man," Keith hums but doesn't look up, "I wanted to say thanks for what you did today."

"No problem," Keith replies, "he shouldn't have said that. Even if you were a cargo pilot then, you're a Paladin of Voltron now, a _Defender of the Universe_. Nothing beats that."

Keith is still focusing on his task, but along with that there's something about the way he talks so casually with Lance that feels so… domestic. This situation seems so normal, as if Lance belongs here, like this room isn't Keith's, but _theirs_. A warmth surges through Lance, because all of this seems so natural, and for a moment he's lost in the illusion that this is his reality.

"Um, I also wanted to apologise for what I said when we were out in space." Lance winces when he recalls his words. He didn't mean them, he's sure Keith knows, but he still wants to say sorry.

"What? When?" Keith pauses, quirking an eyebrow, "Lance, every moment we spent off Earth was 'out in space'."

Lance rolls his eyes at the comment, but guesses he has a point. "When we were _floating_ out in space, better?"

"Very, actually," Keith smirks, and almost causes Lance to choke on air. There is no way he isn't doing this on purpose. "But you don't need to apologise, it's fine."

"It's not," Lance says softly, "but thank you." He pauses, because he hadn't expected to be just let off the hook like this, and he wanted to explain some things. So before the moment passes, he stands up and starts, "it's just that you kept leaving." His words make Keith still, and then he closes his eyes, so Lance keeps talking before he assumes the worst. "You left the Garrison, you left the team to join the Blade of Marmora, you left us to go after Acxa. And I understand why, your reasons every time were justified, but I was scared. I didn't, and I still don't want to lose you, Keith.

"I know that I didn't treat you well during the Garrison days but you were just at a level higher than any of us may ever achieve, and I was jealous. You were the best, and that's what _I_ wanted, but with you there I never would be. So I was mad, for a really long time. But then, somewhere along the line, those feelings changed. I wanted to be like you instead, to be able to do the things you could do. And then I think I started to have a crush on you, because that's just what happens, but then you got expelled. I didn't think I'd ever see you again, so I got over those feelings, or I thought I had, because when I walked into that quarantine to see you holding up Shiro, all I could think about was how I had another chance.

"I know I kept bringing up our rivalry and upkeeping that at the beginning but I was panicking, okay? You were back, and I didn't know how to act around you without bickering, and all those feelings I thought were gone came rushing back and—yeah. I liked you. Still do. I may have a shitty way of showing it, but I was working on it. And every time I got close to telling you, we'd be swept away on a dangerous mission and that would get rid of any confidence I had. When you left for the second time, there was this void. It was different to the first time, because we had bonded, yes I remember that, and we were becoming close, but then it was all gone. I didn't—it was just hard to deal with. So when you weren't heading back to the lions with us, I was afraid you weren't going to come back.

"I guess I really wanted you to stay because I wanted to know that you liked it there, being with us, with me. I related it with you feeling like you belonged somewhere. I wanted you to have that, but when you kept leaving, to me it was like a rejection. Like you hadn't found your place yet, and that you were still searching, because we weren't, I wasn't, it. I know it's stupid, but emotions are stupid, so.

"Did you know that when I got back with my family to where they were staying one of the first things they said was "hey, was that the Keith you were always telling us about? He's cute." Not 'what was space like, Lance?' or even 'how did you get yourself into this mess?'. It was kind of embarrassing, but I think it solidified the fact that you've always been there, in some way." Lance takes a deep breath once he's finished, and then stops. He did not mean to say so much. It was meant to be a simple explanation, he was going to mention something about oxygen deprivation, and that would be it. He did not mean to ramble and pace in front of Keith, waving his hands around, confessing.

After a moment, Lance dares to slowly turn around to face Keith. He isn't sure what he expects, but he gets Keith looking up at him with something resembling awe. He doesn't seem angry, nor has he kicked Lance out, so that must be a good start. Still, as every second ticks by, Lance wants nothing more than to be launched into space, and he's considering just backing out of the room awkwardly when Keith finally moves. He rises from the bed and takes a few careful steps towards Lance, until he's close enough to take a hold of Lance's hand. Lance isn't even sure if he's breathing right now, but he tries really hard to pay attention when Keith speaks.

"Oh. Well," Keith draws the word out, "when I chose you on the gameshow, it wasn't because I didn't want to be stuck for eternity with you." Keith looks down at their hands and starts playing with Lance's fingers, "I just thought about how much you missed your family, and how much you missed Earth, and I thought you deserved to be able to see all that again." Keith brings his eyes back up to Lance, and he's smiling, really smiling, with a glint in his eyes. Just as Lance starts to feel really overwhelmed (he feels like his heart is going to burst), Keith delivers the final blow by leaning forwards so their foreheads touch. "You said I was the future, Lance, but you're _my_ future."

Pause. What the fuck. This isn't real. There is no way Keith just said something like that. What the fuck. Lance remains frozen, trying to process everything that's happened, trying to get a grip on things. Meanwhile, Keith chuckles (this makes things worse), and heads back to his bed.

"Hey, when you're ready, grab that pair of scissors and join me. We can talk about us later."

The 'us' snaps Lance out of his daze, and he whips head around to see that Keith's already gone back to working on his project, like he didn't just destroy Lance for a second time. Lance still needs some time to recover, because this is insane. All of this is so crazy. There is this weird feeling in his chest, something like stability that makes him feel whole, and he wonders if this is what it's like to be someone's first choice.

Eventually, Lance takes his place on the bed and starts helping Keith out. Keith shares various stories about Adam and Shiro, and in turn Lance tells him about his parents. He thinks that maybe someday someone will be telling stories about the two of them. After a while, Lance finds himself just watching Keith. He's started humming to himself, which Lance finds endearing, and every now and then he'll look up to just smile at Lance. This puts a permanent grin on his face, and then he thinks back to earlier, to the domesticity he felt, and how Keith was so calm throughout everything. It was as if Lance's confession didn't surprise him at all, like he already knew something Lance didn't. Maybe he did, Lance thinks, because Lance has finally caught onto it too.

It was just meant to be.

* * *

 **A/N:** "I feel like a part of my soul has loved you since the beginning of everything. Maybe we're from the same star." – Emery Allen

so yeah. thanks for reading klance are soulmates!

(my tumblr is riskeith if you wanna hmu)


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